Highland Cottage
Encyclopedia
Highland Cottage, also known as Squire House, is located on South Highland Avenue (U.S. Route 9) in Ossining
, New York, United States. It was the first concrete house in Westchester County
, built in the 1870s in the Gothic Revival
architectural style
. In 1982 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
Built by a prominent local man with an interest in new construction techniques, it has seen several different uses over the years. It was a sanitarium
in the early 20th century, then a hospital and later a restaurant. For most of that century, the Squire family ran a local business school there. Since then it has returned to residential use. The village is considering adding it to the nearby Downtown Ossining
Historic District
as a contributing property
.
and the latter from the brick 1870 First Presbyterian Church designed by Isaac G. Perry
. The historic district boundary currently runs in the middle of the streets between those buildings, both of which are contributing properties
to the district, and the cottage. To the west are other houses; an apartment building is to the south. The lot slopes to the west, in the direction of the Hudson River
.
The house itself is a two-story, three-bay
structure of 18-inch–thick (18 inches (45.7 cm)) load-bearing precast concrete
blocks faced in stucco
. It is topped by a steep polychromatic
hipped roof
shingled in a fish-scale pattern. The northern bay of the main block rises to a peaked tower above the roof. A one-story northern wing has a mansard roof
pierced by gable
d dormer windows.
Bay window
s project from all facade
s except the north. They have narrow round-arched one-over-one double-hung sash window
s with stippled
corners scored to give the appearance of quoin
s serving as surrounds, becoming segmental arches with projecting keystone
s; a fleur-de-lys carved from Sing Sing marble is on the front stone. Above them a bracketed
cornice
with broad eaves sets off the flat roof; on the second story they are echoed by a tripartite window with a projecting continuous stippled surround and otherwise similar treatment to the first-floor windows.
On the northern bay of the east (front) facade, from which the southern bay projects slightly, the main entrance is located in a recessed round-arched entryway with similar decoration as the windows; its keystone has a lion. Above it is an oculus
with a shell on its projecting keystone. The north wing has a wooden balustraded porch and arches as well; behind it are round-arched two-over-two double-hung sash in quoined surrounds. The gabled dormers are steeply pitched; within them are small windows similar to those below.
Pendants support the brackets at the roofline cornice above the tripartite window; all the other brackets on that cornice are identical to those on the bay windows. Above the tripartite window an engaged turret
rises. The lower of its two stages has round-arched one-over-one double-hung sash. Another bracketed cornice above it supports the flared, conical roof.
On the entrance tower, the roofline is continued with a section of concrete laid to appear as a slightly projecting flat course
. The tower's roofline is broken by another double-hung two-over-two round-arched window flanked by mirroring brackets. Above its projecting cornice is a small jerkin-roofed one-over-one round-arched window. The top of the peak has an iron weathervane and some other decor.
The main entrance has a short set of steps and round-arched walnut
double doors. The inside is paneled in dark oak, intricately molded
. The floor is also oak, with alternating light and dark strips. All doors on the first floor are nine feet (3 m) high and echo the round-arched configuration of the entry doors, with brass hardware. Windows on the first and second floors have recesses for interior louver
ed shutters
. The ceilings are of molded plaster, with some detailed medallions on the first floor. Around the house are seven stone fireplaces in different styles, with gold trim. The library's has a carved marble lion's head similar to that above the main entrance.
Concrete had been used to build American houses before, but only rarely, due to the abundance of wood and masonry. Since it was so unusual, English workers were brought over to build the house, which early on earned the disparaging local nickname of "Mud House". The concrete used for the precast
blocks was Rosendale cement
, made at what is now the Register-listed Snyder Estate Natural Cement Historic District
in Rosendale
, further north in the Hudson Valley
. It would be the first concrete house in Westchester County
, predating the better-known reinforced concrete
Ward Castle
in what is now Rye Brook
by four years. The High Victorian Gothic
style used was also an unusual choice for house.
Six years later, in 1878, Baker died. His estate
took three years to sell. The Dickey family gave it the name Highland Cottage when they moved in in 1881. Six years later, they moved. Their buyer, an elderly woman, lived there for a short time before selling in turn to a man named John Cockcroft.
Cockcroft lived in the house, without making any signficant changes to it, for 17 years before selling it to Dr. Amos Squire in 1905. It would take his name as his family put it to a number of different uses over the course of the 20th century. Five years after moving in, Squire, then the head physician at nearby Sing Sing Prison, converted
the first floor into Grandview Sanitarium, a mental hospital
. In the years after World War I
, Squire, a member of the state Naval Militia
, used it as a hospital for injured sailors.
During the 1920s Squire's public service continued, as the village's health officer and a county medical examiner
. In 1920 the ground floor became the Castle Inn restaurant, while the Squires retained their upstairs quarters. After the restaurant moved to other premises in 1923, the family took over the house again. When Dr. Squire assumed the medical examiner's position in 1925, his secretary needed to be able to accompany him on any emergency calls, so a basement apartment was constructed for the man and his wife to live there from 1936 to 1944.
After 1944, the space was rented out for medical offices. Dr. Squire died in 1949, leaving the house to his daughter, Evelyn Squire Culp, who had herself been born in the house 44 years earlier. Culp, a practicing lawyer and graduate of Columbia Business School
, started the Squire School of Business in the house in 1952. She continued to teach office and secretarial skills there for 20 years, and tutored private pupils until 1984.
That year she donated the house to the Westchester Preservation League. For the next 12 years it remained her residence. After she moved out in 1996, the league sold the house to a private owner, and so it has remained since.
Ossining (village), New York
Ossining is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 25,060 at the 2010 census. As a village, it is located in the Town of Ossining.-Geography:Ossining borders the eastern shores of the widest part of the Hudson River....
, New York, United States. It was the first concrete house in Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, built in the 1870s in the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
. In 1982 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Built by a prominent local man with an interest in new construction techniques, it has seen several different uses over the years. It was a sanitarium
Sanitarium
Sanitarium may refer to:*An alternate spelling of sanatorium, a medical facility for long-term illness or a summer resort.*Sanitarium, California, in Napa County*Battle Creek Sanitarium, made famous by John Harvey Kellogg...
in the early 20th century, then a hospital and later a restaurant. For most of that century, the Squire family ran a local business school there. Since then it has returned to residential use. The village is considering adding it to the nearby Downtown Ossining
Downtown Ossining Historic District
The Downtown Ossining Historic District is located at the central crossroads of Ossining, New York, United States, and the village's traditional business district known as the Crescent. Among its many late 19th- and early 20th-century commercial buildings are many of the village's major...
Historic District
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
as a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
.
Building
The property is on the southwest corner of the intersection of South Highland and Maple Place, across the former from Ossining High SchoolOssining High School
Ossining High School is public high school, located in Ossining, New York, colloquially known as OHS. Its building is located within the boundaries of the Downtown Ossining Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989....
and the latter from the brick 1870 First Presbyterian Church designed by Isaac G. Perry
Isaac G. Perry
Isaac Gale Perry , was a prolific New York State architect and builder. His works include New York State Inebriate Asylum, Monday Afternoon Club, Phelps Mansion and the First National Bank of Oxford.- Life and career :...
. The historic district boundary currently runs in the middle of the streets between those buildings, both of which are contributing properties
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the district, and the cottage. To the west are other houses; an apartment building is to the south. The lot slopes to the west, in the direction of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
.
The house itself is a two-story, three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
structure of 18-inch–thick (18 inches (45.7 cm)) load-bearing precast concrete
Precast concrete
By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment , the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers many potential advantages over site casting of concrete...
blocks faced in stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
. It is topped by a steep polychromatic
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
shingled in a fish-scale pattern. The northern bay of the main block rises to a peaked tower above the roof. A one-story northern wing has a mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
pierced by gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d dormer windows.
Bay window
Bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. The angles most commonly used on the inside corners of the bay are 90, 135 and 150 degrees. Bay windows are often associated with Victorian architecture...
s project from all facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s except the north. They have narrow round-arched one-over-one double-hung sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s with stippled
Stippling
Stippling is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots. Such a pattern may occur in nature and these effects are frequently emulated by artists.-Art:...
corners scored to give the appearance of quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s serving as surrounds, becoming segmental arches with projecting keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
s; a fleur-de-lys carved from Sing Sing marble is on the front stone. Above them a bracketed
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
with broad eaves sets off the flat roof; on the second story they are echoed by a tripartite window with a projecting continuous stippled surround and otherwise similar treatment to the first-floor windows.
On the northern bay of the east (front) facade, from which the southern bay projects slightly, the main entrance is located in a recessed round-arched entryway with similar decoration as the windows; its keystone has a lion. Above it is an oculus
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
with a shell on its projecting keystone. The north wing has a wooden balustraded porch and arches as well; behind it are round-arched two-over-two double-hung sash in quoined surrounds. The gabled dormers are steeply pitched; within them are small windows similar to those below.
Pendants support the brackets at the roofline cornice above the tripartite window; all the other brackets on that cornice are identical to those on the bay windows. Above the tripartite window an engaged turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
rises. The lower of its two stages has round-arched one-over-one double-hung sash. Another bracketed cornice above it supports the flared, conical roof.
On the entrance tower, the roofline is continued with a section of concrete laid to appear as a slightly projecting flat course
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
. The tower's roofline is broken by another double-hung two-over-two round-arched window flanked by mirroring brackets. Above its projecting cornice is a small jerkin-roofed one-over-one round-arched window. The top of the peak has an iron weathervane and some other decor.
The main entrance has a short set of steps and round-arched walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
double doors. The inside is paneled in dark oak, intricately molded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
. The floor is also oak, with alternating light and dark strips. All doors on the first floor are nine feet (3 m) high and echo the round-arched configuration of the entry doors, with brass hardware. Windows on the first and second floors have recesses for interior louver
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
ed shutters
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
. The ceilings are of molded plaster, with some detailed medallions on the first floor. Around the house are seven stone fireplaces in different styles, with gold trim. The library's has a carved marble lion's head similar to that above the main entrance.
History
Henry J. Baker, the builder and first occupant of Highland Cottage, bought the property in 1869. A successful New York City businessman who moved to Ossining, he had an interest in construction, having initiated the effort to build a new Methodist church in town. The local newspaper reported in March 1872 that he was going to build houses of "Swiss architecture" on his lots on Highland and Mott Street (as Maple Place was then known).Concrete had been used to build American houses before, but only rarely, due to the abundance of wood and masonry. Since it was so unusual, English workers were brought over to build the house, which early on earned the disparaging local nickname of "Mud House". The concrete used for the precast
Precast concrete
By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment , the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers many potential advantages over site casting of concrete...
blocks was Rosendale cement
Rosendale cement
Rosendale cement refers to a type of natural cement produced in and around Rosendale, New York from argilaceous limestone. The fast-setting Rosendale natural cement mortars proved to be more efficient than the traditional mortars based on lime and sand...
, made at what is now the Register-listed Snyder Estate Natural Cement Historic District
Snyder Estate Natural Cement Historic District
The Snyder Estate Natural Cement Historic District is located in the Town of Rosendale, New York, United States. It is a tract roughly bounded by Rondout Creek, Binnewater and Cottekill roads and Sawdust Avenue...
in Rosendale
Rosendale, New York
Rosendale is a town in the center of Ulster County, New York, United States. It once contained a village of the same name, which was dissolved through a vote. The population was 6,075 at the 2010 census.- History :...
, further north in the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
. It would be the first concrete house in Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, predating the better-known reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
Ward Castle
William E. Ward House
The William E. Ward House, known locally as Ward's Castle, is located on the state line between Rye Brook, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. It is a reinforced concrete structure built in the 1870s....
in what is now Rye Brook
Rye Brook, New York
Rye Brook is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, within the town of Rye. Prior to the village's establishment on July 7, 1982, the area was an unincorporated section of the town of Rye...
by four years. The High Victorian Gothic
High Victorian Gothic
High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style unto its own right....
style used was also an unusual choice for house.
Six years later, in 1878, Baker died. His estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
took three years to sell. The Dickey family gave it the name Highland Cottage when they moved in in 1881. Six years later, they moved. Their buyer, an elderly woman, lived there for a short time before selling in turn to a man named John Cockcroft.
Cockcroft lived in the house, without making any signficant changes to it, for 17 years before selling it to Dr. Amos Squire in 1905. It would take his name as his family put it to a number of different uses over the course of the 20th century. Five years after moving in, Squire, then the head physician at nearby Sing Sing Prison, converted
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
the first floor into Grandview Sanitarium, a mental hospital
Mental Hospital
Mental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
. In the years after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Squire, a member of the state Naval Militia
New York Naval Militia
The New York Naval Militia is the Naval Militia of New York State and is under the command of the Governor of New York.With the New York State Guard, as well as the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, it is under the control of the New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs and New...
, used it as a hospital for injured sailors.
During the 1920s Squire's public service continued, as the village's health officer and a county medical examiner
Medical examiner
A medical examiner is a medically qualified government officer whose duty is to investigate deaths and injuries that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictions to initiate inquests....
. In 1920 the ground floor became the Castle Inn restaurant, while the Squires retained their upstairs quarters. After the restaurant moved to other premises in 1923, the family took over the house again. When Dr. Squire assumed the medical examiner's position in 1925, his secretary needed to be able to accompany him on any emergency calls, so a basement apartment was constructed for the man and his wife to live there from 1936 to 1944.
After 1944, the space was rented out for medical offices. Dr. Squire died in 1949, leaving the house to his daughter, Evelyn Squire Culp, who had herself been born in the house 44 years earlier. Culp, a practicing lawyer and graduate of Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students...
, started the Squire School of Business in the house in 1952. She continued to teach office and secretarial skills there for 20 years, and tutored private pupils until 1984.
That year she donated the house to the Westchester Preservation League. For the next 12 years it remained her residence. After she moved out in 1996, the league sold the house to a private owner, and so it has remained since.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Westchester County, New York